892.61317/8–1845
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Southeast Asian Affairs (Moffat) of a Conversation With the Secretary of the Thai Legation (Sanasen)
In the course of a conversation I expressed as my purely personal view that it might be a wise political step for Thailand to offer a substantial amount of the rice held by the Thai Government free to the Allies. Inasmuch as rice is greatly needed by the Allies for other areas in the Far East and as Thailand in fact did not participate actively against the Japanese or suffer very much from the war, I thought personally that such a gift would be a gesture which might pay dividends to Thailand far in excess of the monetary loss.